Vine and Branches Line

While trying to come up with material to use on my diorama I realized I needed some different sized filters to sort the materials by size that I was preparing for it. I came up with a filter lid for TreeTop applesauce containers, of which there is no shortage in our house. I've posted the model on Thingiverse and it can be customized to your needs. Parametric Filter Lid

Part of the reason for creating the VnBJan2021 Diorama was to figure out to to connect my bridge to the layout. I found the HO Scale Bridge Shoe (Pedestal) by bkpsu on Thingiverse and printed it out but it looked too big, so I decided to use OpenSCAD and started over. One of the reasons that I love OpenSCAD is that if you create it right you can incrementally adjust things until you get them just right without having to manually move lots of little points. Since all values are calculated it is also easy to revert back to a previous version and try a different combination of settings.  I started with the basic upright shape which is a hull of a cylinder and a cube. I adjusted the position so that everything was centered so that it would be easier to position later.  Next I put that in a module with the option to add a nut and remove the center. After that I created three uprights for the base and added base a plate underneath. I chose 0.8mm because it would give me three lay...

Here is my entry for the VnBJan2021 diorama challenge. This post will be updates as I make progress on the diorama. Setting: An old abandon railroad that some campers are scoping out the ability to turn it into a Rails to Trails bike path. Materials: Ross Foam board - similar to Adams Readi-board Cardboard scraps from shipping boxes. 3d printed track - straight  & curved Woodland Scenics - Campers - Scenic Accents(R) -- With Tent & Accessories Black and brown acrylic paint. Atlas Arch bridge - Will not fit within the diorama but I want to test how to make the bridge connect to the main track. Final Finished Diorama: <placeholder> Build Log The track was printed with white PLA because it was what was in the printer and it's what I have the most of. Next time I'll probable print with black and then weather with the brown. Comparison of black track with brown weathering.

I've starting to finalize my track plan on the Vine & Branches layout, but before I finish up, I would like to make sure that I'm headed the right direction with how I do my scenery so I decided to make a small diorama to test out different techniques and challenge you to do the same and share your creations. Rules:  Must be realistic in nature.  Base dimensions less than 12x12. Inexpensive - As this is a test area for different techniques expenses need to be kept to a minimum as it will probably get either thrown away or given away. Post your entries with the hash tag #VnBJan2021 Contain: Some mountain/hill terrain with a rock face. Has a spot to connect the track to an Atlas bridge such as the  Through Truss Bridge . Some trees. Leave a comment here with a link to your post on Instrgram, Twitter, or whatever platform or forum you chose to post your entry on. Make sure to post your comment linking to your entry before January 31, 2021 as comments will be disabled aft...

Every available shipping option has been put into service to keep up with the shipping demands this holiday season, even after the holiday season has come to a close.

 I've been using the logging cars with my Mantua 2-6-6-2 articulated logger and it has been working very well. I plan on making a couple more but given the size of my layout any more than 12 would be overkill. I have 3 other RoundHouse skeleton logging cars and if I get those running that brings me to 7 total. If I print 3 more that would give me the option if having 2 trains of 5 cars each. If anyone is interested getting a logging car, I'll send a free print to the first 5 people that leave a comment here and once the  Vine & Branches YouTube channel reaches 10 subscribers. You will be responsible for shipping costs.

My father recently purchased several tank cars for his HO scale train layout, the Siberian Express, so naturally when I saw a  Fuel Distribution Center  posted on Thingiverse by  kabrumble , I thought it would be a good addition to his layout and maybe give him some momentum. I like many of kabrumble's designs and have printed several of them but there always seems to be one part that just doesn't slice correctly, so I thought I would share how I've tweaked, repaired, and/or upgraded each of the parts. The tools that I will be using are an Anet A8 printer, Simplify3D to slice and mostly OpenSCAD with a little bit of Blender. Blender is a very sophisticated program that I am not very good at so when I run into a problem I first have to decide if it is faster to just recreate the piece in OpenSCAD or just tweak a few planes with Blender. Usually I just use OpenSCAD. For this progress update that was all that I needed.  Let's start with the vertical tank. After spending...